Spring support for upholstery and the like



Dec. 26, 1944. E. s. COPELAND ETAL 2,355,365

SPRING SUPPORT FOR UPHOLSTERY AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 13. 1943 I NVLNTDRE L5. COPELAND. D. B. PORTER. \MVAN WYCK.

E. s. COPELAND ETTAL 2,365,865

SPRING SUPPORT FOR UPHOLSTERY AND THE LIKE I Filed May 13, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m VENTURE LSLUPELAND llELFI] RTER. 7 7 wwwwvcn.

I Patented Dec. 26, 1944 SPRING SUPPORT FOR UPHOLSTERY AND THE Ermin tuart Copeland, David Bertram lcrtgr. and Walter Van Wyck, 'Wingham, pntario, Canada; assignors to Fry & Blackl al'l, Limited, Wingham, Ontari C n da, a m a y Ontario Application May :13, 1943, Serial No. 486,758 1 In Canada February 24 1943 3 Claims. 7 ('01. 241') Our invention relates to improvements inspring supports foruupholstery and the 'like.

Due to the fact that steel has recently .been placed on civilian restricted .and prohibited lists, it is necessary to devise other types .of sprlngsupport for upholstery and the like. [As a result,

many proposals .have been made in this field .and as a matter of fact, many years ago a variety of wooden springs were invented and proposed for use but without practical success. Manyof these proposals are cumbersome' or have had severe limitations. Almost all hatethad as features the bow of the bow and arrow or the spring principle :of the springboard of the old swimming hole." To harness these qualities of springing into a simple, practical and -noiseless un-it and to use the spring qualities mentioned in multiples in the said unit, to ease the strain at any one point, to equalize the flexing of the spring unit over all the parts intended to flex-and to'provide against damage to the aflexing members by sudden shock, is the goal sought and achieved-by this invention.

It is, therefore, an object of the ir-ivention to avoid the disadvantages of the. prior art and to 1 p devise a. construction-of spring support which will dispense with the :use of metal to 'a maximumextent in its construction to conform 'to govern- :ment restrictions and allow of its replacement by wood and yet atth-e same time achieve a flexibility and durability equal to that hither-to attained in anaallmetal construction.

"Inthedrawings; r

1 is a. perspective-view'of our wood spring construction. i

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view through Fig. '1. Fig. .3 is a, sectional view taken from front to rear of the "construction illustrated in Fig. "l and showing by'dotted linesthe position of the front portion of a spring-when under10ad..

"Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 showing by dotted lines the :position of the rear portion of a spring when under load. I

Fig. 5 is a similar view to Figs. 3and 4 showing in dotted lines the position a spring assumes when the centre -or main portion of the spring is'underload.

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views of alternative constructions.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

A is a spring unit. Three of these units are usually employed in a chesterfield or davenport seat and three units to form the back. In a chair of similar construction, one spring unit is emtermed in the side ba s 4 and 5- uph l tery em. springs 18 ar 'prsfierablr foi n number in eac plott inthe seat an on in t back- E c spring innit A s pr ded it a m n su pe -tins ,iramez si ilar t ha u u y employe a d comprisi the from a d rear a s 2 and an side bars and Between the ide bars and a e t nab amo n ed ro ing me bers 6 and J n which -,t.h 8 a e dic y n e T A. y Thememb r f end il fiiih the io mr e e b of rectan u ar har cprov d d at th i en s it trunnions 9 and I0 freely fi ti-hs'h es U and The trunnions .9 and to andholes and 12 a p v de w th a suitable lubricanttp @IfiWMEHliQfiQI-l- The springs :8 are f rm d of a d wood suc .as mckelm.ihickc rora hand trea ed-t0 p eve and are arranged narazllelto ea h other in each unit A. The ends :113 and MI o th bewar zanichored .respectivelyrtotherockin members 6 a :1 so that whencthesnrines 8 are sentrall hhd load, they tend to turn the members op o it directions-as indicated hylarrowkin Fi 7 wh :the front portion ,only .of thespring "8 under "load, the member O fly tau-m5; "th rear portion beingjheld from movement !by the :bar .I 5

; which prevents the upward. movement of their rear portion. When the rear portion of the spring 8 is the only-portion underdoad, the member "6 onlyturns; the tront portionof the spring being "heldfrom movement either=by-the bar 4'6 as in Fig. 6 or by the anchor device I of 'Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5 and which consists of the riders -18 secured to the main portion of each spring 8 as indicated at t9, the connecting strip -21] and the fabric strips 2 l secured tothe strip 21! at one end and to th irontharf .Qf th m in .suH

frame. lh ders .118 a idt es rip 2. are als formed Qfwood. I

In o der to ta e pfishcclls when the s a -c-ms-lmderlleavytlaad, wan vide the small ,ten-

sign springs 2 secured to themembers .6 n 1 the desired size of seat or back and to give the desired resiliency.

The reason for the use of rocking members as anchor supports for the ends of the spring members B is to provide a flexible knee action to the spring impossible if the flexing member ends are rigidly and immovably anchored. The movement of the rocking member provides against sudden shock between the end bows of the spring 8 and to the springboard portion 8w by permitting the members 6 and I to turn slightly when the spring is under pressure, thus constantly changing, during the period of being compressed, the point at which the greatest strain comes. This knee action brings the whole flexing member into play and greatly lessens any possibility of breakage through shock at any point.

It is, however, necessary to control the actionof the rocking members 6 and I to give the desired effect. Without control these members would turn too far in either forward or backward action and would bring about complete negation of the results desired. This control is provided by the cross members I5 and I6 which are used across the frame of each spring unit parallel to but preferably two inches outward from each rocking member 6 and 1 and above the lower part of the flexible bow spring member 8. This prevents the back of the spring unit from tipping upward and letting the front go too far down and likewise it prevents the front from tipping too far up and letting the back too far down.

Further if the springs 8 are compressed most forcibly at the back it brings the flexibility of each spring completely into play from the front cross member [6 or 2D to the rocking member 6 at the opposite side. If the spring unit is compressed most forcibly at the front, it brings the flexibility of each spring member completely into play from the back cross member I5 to the rocking member I at the opposite side.

A further shock absorber and equalizer is provided by the use of a suitable number of helical springs of satisfactory gauge and length to control the extent to which the seat may be compressed either at the front or back, separately or equally together. Not only does the use of these helical springs prevent the spring unitfrom compressing to the point of hitting bottom, but the torsion effect of the spring ensures more resilient comeback after compression is released and acts as a buffer against sudden shock or strain. These helical springs flexibly connect the rocking members at right angles to said members.

When a spring edge is required, the riders 18 which are preferably of the same flexible material as is used in the spring member 8 are securely fastened to the top of member 8 as far toward the part of that member which will permit the rider to extend beyond it but still parallel with its top surface. At the point at which a spring edge is required, a cross member 20 joins the riders at right angles. This cross member while flexible is of sufficient weight to hold tacks securely. Webbing or other satisfactory securing material is used to tie down the spring edge. This tying is done with suflicient strength so that when a spring edge is used, the front controlling cross member 16 otherwise used parallel to the front rocking member I is no longer necessary and is eliminated.

Although we have described our device as used for supporting seat upholstery of a chesterfield, davenport, or a chesterfield chair, it can equally be applied to the upholstered backs of these articles of furniture and also not only to upholstered furniture but to bed spring supports for mattresses and further to verandah furniture which the upholstery is dispensed with and the spring 8 suitably colored to give a decorative effect.

In Fig. 7 we have shown a further modification in which the centre portion of each spring 8 is cut away and the spring ends connected by strips 23 and 24 securing canvas or other flexible material across the interspace to. provide a soft flexible seat.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. The combination with a main support and a plurality of parallel bow springs set with their bow backs uppermost and the extremities of their opposing ends parallel, of a rocking member turnably mounted in the main support to which one end of each bow is secured, a rocking member also turnably mounted in the main support to which the other end of each bow is secured, m ans for resiliently resisting the turning movement of the rocking members in an outward direction when the bow springs are depressed, and means for preventing the upward movement of either end of the bow while permitting free downward movement.

2. The combination with a main support and-a plurality of parallel bow springs set with their bow backs uppermost and the extremities of their opposing ends parallel, of a rocking member turnably mounted in the main support and to which one end of each bow is secured, a rocking member also turnably mounted in the main support and to which the other end of each bow is secured, tension springs connecting the rocking members together at a point above their axial centersto resist their turning movement in opposite directions, and means for preventing the upward movement of either end of the bow while permitting free downward movement.

I 3. The combination with a main support and a plurality of parallel bow springs set with their bow backs uppermost and the extremities of their opposing ends parallel, of a rocking member turnably mounted in the main support to which one end of each bow is secured, a rocking member also turnably mounted in the main support to which the other end of each bow is secured, means for resiliently resisting the turning movement of the rocking members in an outward direction when the bow springs are depressed, and means for preventing the inward turning movement of either rocking member while permitting free outward movement.

ERMIN STUART COPELAND. DAVID BERTRAM PORTER...v

WALTER VAN WYCK.. 

